Appreciations

Many, many tributes in memory of the late Anura Dias Bandaranaike have appeared, and rightly so. May I be permitted to add my own small mite, my two cents’ worth, rather, belatedly to a gentleman parliamentarian par excellence with whom I had the privilege of associating over the last 30 years, ever since he made his debut in the then National State Assembly as a callow youth of 32 years, representing the Nuwara Eliya electorate as the SLFP Second Member of that multi-member constituency. Our friendship grew steadily over three decades, until his sad demise.

Anura had his early education at Royal College; among his distinguished classmates were Ranil Wickremesinghe and Dinesh Gunawardena. He had a deep affection for his alma mater, and often graced the school’s annual prize-givings and other college events. As I too am an Old Boy of Royal College, Anura would often ask me about the college, its current activities and the welfare of its staff and students.

After studying at Royal, Anura proceeded to the UK to read for a degree (successfully) at the University of London. During his 30-years’ tenure as a Parliamentarian, Anura distinguished himself as Leader of the Opposition for five years (1983-1988), as Minister of Higher Education, as Speaker of Parliament (2000-2002), changing his constituency from Nuwara Eliya to Gampaha, and even as a National List Member.

I would say that Anura’s eloquence as a Speaker in the thrust and parry of debate was almost unparalleled. No doubt he inherited this inborn talent from his late revered father, who shone in all the debates in which he participated.

I recall with nostalgia the contribution he made in the House, when he invited Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain, to formally address the House during her visit to Sri Lanka to inaugurate the Victoria Dam under the Mahaweli Scheme. As the then Sri Lanka Prime Minister, Ranasinghe Premadasa, was abroad at that point of time, the task of moving the vote of thanks was handed over to Major Montague Jayawickrema, the then Leader of the House. We afforded the opportunity of seconding the vote of thanks to Anura.

On that occasion, Anura spoke with such brilliance and eloquence that his speech overshadowed that of the Minister. I recall how the entire Government benches loudly applauded his speech, and even took the unprecedented step of crossing the well of the House to congratulate Anura, something I have never witnessed in my over 30 years of service.

I recall Mrs. Thatcher personally congratulating Anura at tea. In his speech, Anura recalled his own student days at the University of London, reading History; how he had even demonstrated against the education policies of Mrs. Thatcher; how he had closely followed Mrs. Thatcher’s long march from Grantham to Whitehall and her ascent from professional life to political life on a pioneering trail as the first woman leader of the Conservative Party and as the first woman leader of the opposition, which prepared her to be Britain’s first woman Prime Minister, while gently reminding Mrs. Thatcher that Sri Lanka had produced the world’s first woman Prime Minister, his own mother, two decades earlier.

The other stand-out occasion I recall was when Anura delivered a historic ruling in the House in June 2001. The occasion was when the Supreme Court issued a stay order, restraining the Speaker from appointing a select committee to inquire into the conduct of the Chief Justice, consequent to a motion of impeachment against him being forwarded to the Speaker. A few months before his appointment as Speaker (with both sides of the House unanimously agreeing on his appointment), Anura asked me to assist him in his Parliamentary duties. I initially refused, because I was reluctant to return to the House, having retired as Secretary General with over 30 years of service. He insisted, and called me three times at my home, I consented. At the time this Motion was handed over to Anura, I had gone (with his permission) abroad with my family for a short holiday.

The Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Singapore contacted me and conveyed Anura’s message, asking me to return home immediately, in view of the new problem. I returned forthwith, and over the next few days Anura and I sat together, both in Parliament and his book-lined library in his Bawa-designed Rosmead Place apartment, discussing the pros and cons of the Motion, the alleged interference by the Judiciary with Parliament and its impact on Parliament.

He also wanted me to seek outside expert legal opinion, which we did, so that together we could draft a Ruling. Anura’s familiarity with the intricacies of Parliamentary procedure made our task that much easier. We toiled over the matter for hours and hours, researching every known similar Parliamentary problem, from Sri Lanka to the UK to India. Finally, on June 20, 2001, Anura announced his historic ruling. I wish to quote here what he personally put down in the last paragraph:

“Since I commenced my Parliamentary career in 1977, I have often quoted in this House the words of the Bard from Stratford on Avon, William Shakespeare. In his monumental play Hamlet, he spoke thus -

“This above all: to thine ownself be true
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man’.

“Hon. Members of Parliament, throughout my political and parliamentary career, I have had to face periods of difficulty, great turmoil and greater perplexity, which required me to make important decisions and painful choices. I have done so unhesitatingly by doing the correct thing and have acted according to the dictates of my conscience.”

“I thank every one of my Honourable friends from both sides of the House for their attention and patience." Needless to add, within the next few months Anura received congratulatory messages for this landmark ruling – from the House of Commons in London, the Lok Sabha and other Commonwealth countries.

A few months before his demise, he invited me to a one-on-one lunch at Visumpaya. Over a delicious rice and curry, we talked of personal politics, falling standards in public life, men and matters.

I wish to end quoting Anura’s favourite author, Shakespeare, and his favourite play, Hamlet.

Remembering a genteel Parliamentarian